Many minilab type film processors use a plastic leader card to pull one or more filmstrips through the processor. The filmstrips are attached to the leader cards with a very tenacious plastic adhesive tape. After the film has been processed and the leader card and filmstrips have exited the film processor, an operator removes the filmstrips from the leader card by cutting them close to the leader card. The tape strips and a residual section of film remain attached to the leader card. Current methods of removing this material from the leader card include using fingers and fingernails, or a small metal wedge-shaped scraper to scrape and pull the tape and film section from the leader card. These techniques are time consuming, subject the operator to risk of injury, and subject the reusable leader card to risk of damage. It is, therefore, desirable to provide a device and method that quickly and easily removes residual film section and tape strips from film processor leader cards with a minimum of effort and without risk of injury to the operator or risk of damage to the leader card. It is toward this end that the present invention is directed.
The present invention provides a method and apparatus which is simple in construction, easy to use, and that removes the tape and attached filmstrip from the leader card in a quick and efficient manner.